Ten weeks after Guyanese voted in general elections, the country remains without an official opposition leader, as the candidate most likely to take up the position is being prepared by authorities for extradition to the US on allegations of financial crimes by a party his family once financed and avidly supported.
Azruddin Mohamed, leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party that won 16 of the 65 parliamentary seats, has accused the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Speaker Manzoor Nadir of deliberately delaying a house vote on an opposition leader, saying they are hoping he is extradited before doing so for a string of alleged crimes in the US. WIN won the second largest number of votes, entitling it to select the opposition leader.
A Florida grand jury recently indicted Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, on 11 criminal charges, including wire fraud and money laundering, among others. The indictments were unsealed early last month. The Mohameds are among the leading gold miners and exporters, as well as easily the largest foreign exchange cambio dealers in the country.
The two businessmen were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in mid-2024 for allegedly smuggling more than 10,000 kilograms of gold to the US and avoiding US$50 million in taxes to Guyana.
But the PPP has made no secret of its fast-developing disdain for the younger Mohamed and his family as it has commenced extradition hearings for the two. Heavily armed police arrested the father and son last week, hauling them before the courts as part of the extradition proceedings. A second hearing is scheduled for later this month. The Mohameds have promised to fight their extradition at all levels of the judicial system.
In a social media posting this week, Azruddin Mohamed accused authorities of stalling on convening parliament to elect an opposition leader, charges officials have denied.
“They are doing everything possible to stop me. The constant attacks, whether directly or indirectly, are to weaken me, with the hope that if they hit hard enough, I will cower and retreat. Truth be told, if I rid myself of my political ambitions, these attacks will cease, but I, leader of WIN and leader of the opposition (elect), reaffirm my commitment to you, the Guyanese people. I will continue to stand up and fight, no matter the cost,” he said.
Responding to the accusations, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo dismissed claims of stalling as “garbage”, noting that “they have to go through a process, through a selection or voting process, to determine who will be the next opposition leader.”
